Kissing Lessons
by doodled.star
Summary: Casey has never kissed a boy in her life, so when Sam leans in, she panics. Can a certain stepbrother teach her what she needs to know? Dasey.
1. One

**A/N: Pretend that Casey has never kissed Sam. I know she has, on the show, but pretend for the sake of this story that she hasn't. Sam asked her out, but they haven't kissed yet.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Life With Derek.**

"I had a great time tonight, Sam," Casey said as Sam led her to the front porch of the Venturi-MacDonald house. As they climbed the brick steps, Sam turned to face her.

"Me too," he said, looking straight into her eyes. Casey felt her breath catch in her chest as his hazel eyes burned into her blue ones. He smelled good, like a mix of aftershave and peppermint. She could feel heat emanating from his body, which was very close to hers, and she wondered if his heart was beating as rapidly as hers was. She could barely think straight as he lowered his head to hers; she closed her eyes in anticipation.

However, this only triggered her brain to start worrying. She'd never been kissed by a boy before, what if Sam could tell? What if she wasn't good at it and it repulsed him? She couldn't take that risk.

By now she could feel his breath on her face, warm and soft. Time seemed to be moving in slow motion as he leaned in closer.

Reluctantly, Casey tore herseft away from him. He opened his eyes and stared at her, surprise clearly etched on his face.

"Sorry," she stammered. "I, uh—I should go inside. It's getting late."

Sam nodded, still looking puzzled. "See you in school on Monday?"

"Yeah." Casey waved as she slipped through the front door. Once safely inside, she leaned against the door and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is that you, Casey?" her mother, Nora, called from the kitchen. She walked out to greet her. "How did your date go?"

"It went great," Casey replied, forcing a smile. "I had a good time."

"Well, that's good. Sam's a sweet boy."

"Sam, _sweet?_" Casey groaned as she heard the voice of her least favorite step-sibling. She turned to see Derek making his way down the stairs, smirking. "I know you're not talking about one of _my_ friends," he said. "My friends are not _sweet_." Derek disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared a moment later with a carton of milk, which he gulped straight out of the carton.

"Ew, Derek," Casey wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Others of us drink milk too, you know."

"Oh, sorry." He held the carton out to her. "Want some?"

"No!"

Derek smirked as he took another long sip.

Scowling, Casey turned back to her mother again. "I think I'll go to my room now, work on some homework or something."

She had just closed the door to her bedroom and flopped down on her bed when her sister Lizzie came in. "Hey, Casey."

"Hey, Lizzie. What's up?"

"Nothing, I'm just bored. George wanted me to build a birdhouse with him, but I managed to escape that one."

Casey smiled. "Sounds thrilling."

"Yeah. So how was your date with Sam?"

Once again, Casey's forced smile appeared on her face. "It was fun."

Casey and Lizzie made conversation for a few more minutes before Casey politely asked her sister to leave so she could work on her homework.

However, once she sat down at her desk, Casey found that she had a hard time concentrating.

She really liked Sam. She'd never felt this way about a boy before. She'd had crushes, of course, but none of them had ever amounted to anything, because, let's face it, nobody had ever wanted to date Casey. Which explained her lack of experience. But now she'd met Sam, her eldest step-brother's best friend, who, miraculously, seemed to reciprocate her feelings.

This was the reason for Casey pulling away when Sam leaned in to kiss her. She didn't want to blow her one chance at true love by turning him off with her lack of kissing skills.

So what to do about it? She had to experience her first kiss somehow, but not with Sam. Suddenly she found herself wishing to be one of those girls who'd had horrific first kisses with the class geek, or whoever, who slobbered in her mouth and gave her the most disgusting experience in her life. Because to Casey, this at least seemed better than having no experience at all.

She crossed the room and turned her radio on at full blast, flopped onto her bed, and became lost in her thoughts.

**A/N: So how was it? Even if you thought it was terrible, I'd love to know your thoughts. So let me know in a review. Please and thank you. **


	2. Two

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, guys! I never thought I'd get that many for one chapter. I'm posting this next one pretty soon after the last one since I already had it written, but I'm not sure how long it'll be until I have Chapter 3 up. Just keep reading and reviewing, I appreciate all of them!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Life With Derek.**

When Derek heard Casey's music blasting at even louder volumes than usual, he knew something was up.

Something must have happened on Casey's date with Sam that she was less than happy about.

For some reason, this bit of information pleased Derek, possibly more than anything else had ever since he had given his okay to Casey and Sam dating.

His curiosity finally getting the best of him, Derek left the solitude of his own room and swiftly approached Casey's, barging in without bothering to knock.

For a second, Casey hadn't noticed him yet, and he gazed at her as she sat on her bed, her head in her hands, eyes staring into space, apparently lost in her own thoughts.

But as Derek closed the door behind him, Casey lifted her head, looking at him in what looked like slight annoyance. "What do you want, Derek?"

He smirked. "How did your date with _Sam_ go?"

"Why do _you_ want to know?" Casey snapped.

"Geez, did I strike a nerve? I'm guessing all is not well in Sammy-land."

His stepsister glared at him. "For your information, everything is perfectly fine between Sam and me."

"Then why so testy?"

Casey sighed. "And why are you in here again?"

"Can't a stepbrother ask his _dear_ stepsister how her date went without getting questioned?"

"Look," Casey stated flatly. "My date with Sam was great. G-R-E-A-T. He picked me up, gave me flowers, told me I looked beautiful. We went out to eat, and I discovered that some boys really do know how to dine politely. Then we went to see a movie, and he didn't even object when I wanted to see a romantic comedy that most guys wouldn't like. And at the end of the perfect night he walked me to the door, and leaned in, and—"

"And…" Derek prompted, sitting down on the edge of Casey's bed. This was getting good.

"And I pulled away."

"Ohoho! Have we got something here!"

"Yeah, yeah."

"So…why, exactly, did you lose your desire to kiss dear Sammy-boy?"

"Why do you care?"

"Can't a step-brother ask—"

"Alright, alright." Casey gave in. "I didn't kiss him because…well…the truth is, I've never kissed a boy before, and—"

"Wait, wait. Am I getting this straight? The great, ever-amazing, know-it-all Casey MacDonald has absolutely _no_ experience in the kissing department?" Derek laughed.

"_Why_ am I telling you this again?"

"Because I have a brilliant idea that just might solve your little problem."

"Oh yeah? And just what that idea be? Or were you just not going to tell me?"

Derek made a move to leave, wanting to get under her skin. "Yeah, on second thought, that might be a good idea—" he broke off when Casey dragged him back into the room.

"Tell me." The look on her face convinced Derek that she was serious.

"Okay. You've never kissed a boy, right?"

"Right."

"And I, being as undeniably hot and sexy as I am, have kissed countless girls."

"Are you just here to gloat?"

"No—I'm not done yet. Okay. So you're a girl, I'm a boy, you have no experience, and I have lots. So what do you say to learning the subject from the master?"

"Are you saying—ew! Derek!"

"Come on, do you want to learn or not? You have to admit, it's a good plan."

"We're brother and sister!"

"_Step_-brother and –sister," Derek corrected her. "We're only related through our parents' marriage."

"But—"

"Come on, do you want me to teach you the fine art of kissing, or do you want it to be obvious to Sam that you don't know what you're doing?"

Finally Casey relented. "Okay. I'll do it. But I'm not going to like it."

"Sure, sure…" Derek smirked.

"So…when do we start?"

Derek moved closer to her on the bed, moving his mouth near her ear. "No reason why we can't start right now…"

**Haha. I'm evil. Sorry guys. Review, and I'll try to get the next chapter out soon!**


	3. Three

**A/N: Ohmygosh. You guys rock, did you know that? After chapter one I had 15 reviews, the next day after I posted chapter two I checked again and I had 36! It really made my day. :)**

**I was going to make this chapter extra-long since I got so many reviews, I thought you deserved it, but it's taking me too long to write it and I won't get much time to write anymore since I just started school on Friday (yes, Friday. I know it's weird). So here's what I have so far. I think you'll like it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Life With Derek.**

For the second time that day, Casey felt her breath catch in her chest. Only this time, it wasn't Sam causing this feeling, it was her step-brother, Derek.

Once again, Casey felt her eyes drift shut as Derek's mouth closed in on her own. She was in a world of bliss as she felt his lips touch hers; it seemed to last forever…and yet, as soon as it happened, he pulled away.

"Was that it?" Casey kept her eyes fixed on Derek's lips longingly.

"Nope," Derek replied, "that was just your first lesson. I'll be back later for your next one." Before she could protest, Derek hoisted himself off her bed and left the room.

Casey sighed, leaning back against her pillow. She didn't know why, but for that split second, she had enjoyed the feeling of Derek's lips against hers. Maybe this was the normal feeling people got when they'd been kissed, no matter who'd done the kissing. Hormones and all. _Yeah_, Casey thought, _that's it. _Who said there couldn't be a scientific explanation for everything?

_Oh well_, she thought, _at least with Derek's help, soon I'll be able to kiss Sam, and everything will be perfect._

Satisfied with this thought, Casey soon drifted into sleep, dreams of Derek's kiss floating through her mind all night, though she wouldn't remember them come morning.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Casey awoke early the next morning, when the sun was only just peeking over the horizon. Glancing at the digital clock on the table beside her bed, she was surprised to see the red numbers display 5:16.

_Waking up before six on a Saturday? _She thought, _strange..._

She was too awake to go back to sleep now, though. Sitting up, she slipped her feet into her blue fuzzy slippers and padded downstairs.

Casey opened the refrigerator, grabbed a carton of milk, then hastily put it back after remembering the way Derek had chugged it straight from the carton the day before.

_Although it's not like our mouths haven't touched already..._ Casey thought, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment at the memory.

Finally she decided on a cup of apple juice. Casey loved apple juice. It was simple and tasty, and it brought back memories of her childhood, before Nora had married George. Before her father had left them.

Quietly, making sure not to wake anyone up, she tiptoed out of the house and into the backyard.

There was a clearing in the woods, not too far from the house, that sat on a hill. When Casey went there at night, she could look up and see the stars, and sometimes the moon. Or sometimes Casey came very early, like this time, and she got a perfect view of the sunrise.

Casey knew she probably wasn't the only person who had found the clearing; anyone who'd ever ventured a short distance into the woods could easily stumble upon it. But whenever Casey sat looking up at the stars, she felt completely at peace; as if she were the only person in the entire world.

Today, as Casey stood sipping her apple juice and staring out into the distance, watching the sunrise, her troubles seemed to temporarily disappear. It was as if none of it had ever existed; as if it was all just a figment of her imagination that she could simply flick away when it got too be too much to manage. It all seemed so petty and small when compared to something as beautiful and majestic as the sunrise.

"Couldn't sleep, eh?"

Casey jumped at the sudden voice behind her. She turned to see Derek, clad in only his boxers and a thin t-shirt, looking out at the very same sunrise Casey had been watching.

"No, just woke up early, is all. You?"

"Huh?"

"What are you doing out here?"

"Oh, I, uh, couldn't sleep…been thinking about things."

"What things?"

"None of your business."

"Geez," Casey said, startled, "sorry if I was trying to carry a normal conversation."

Derek said nothing, only staring out at the sun, which had moved further up into the sky. Casey took his lead and they both watched in silence for a few moments.

Meanwhile, thoughts were still floating around in Casey's mind.

"Teach me the second lesson," she said suddenly.

Derek turned. "What?"

"Kissing. Teach me the second lesson on kissing."

He stared at her quizzically. "Right now?"

"I need to learn how to kiss soon," Casey explained. "I'm seeing Sam on Monday. He might try to kiss me again. I can't keep turning him down, Derek, he'll think I don't like him."

"Alright, alright." Derek moved closer to her, so that they were face to face. "The second lesson," he murmured, his breath tickling his cheek; his lips were so close to hers, just millimeters away, and she wondered if he could hear her heart beating in her chest, "is…" he trailed off as his lips pressed against hers. All thoughts left Casey's head as his lips drifted across hers; after a moment she hesitantly kissed him back. His hands cupped her face gently as he deepened the kiss. Soon she felt his tongue flitting along her lips, begging for entrance. She obliged, and his tongue entered her mouth urgently. His hands moved up into her hair, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him closer as their mouths danced against each other.

Finally they pulled apart, breathing hard. Casey could barely think as thoughts flooded her brain. _God_, she thought, _if I'd known this was what kissing was like, I'd have started doing it a lot sooner._

Derek seemed unable to look at her straight. "I should—I should get back." With one last glance at her, he began walking back to the house, leaving Casey to stare at the nearly-risen sun and ponder her thoughts for awhile.

**A/N: There you go, the third chapter. Dasey! Yay. Review!**


	4. Four

**A/N: All I have to say is I'm SOOOO sorry for taking so long with this chapter! I had writer's block for the longest time. Everything I wrote, I hated. Eventually I had to start over completely with a new idea, so this chapter isn't anything like I'd originally planned. Also, I've been swamped with homework and projects and other things. I was planning to write a longer chapter, but I figured I should just post this. I'm not particularly proud of this one…it's not my best writing. I hope to have the next chapter out soon, but we'll see. **

**Oh, and thanks for the many reviews, guys! You know I appreciate them.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Life With Derek.**

When Casey left to hang out with Emily later that day, Derek knew there was no reason for him to stay in the house either. Who was he kidding? He knew Casey wasn't obsessing over the kiss, and neither should he.

He'd heard about a party that night, at Kelli Garner's house. He couldn't think of a better way to distract himself.

Derek would have called Sam to see if he wanted to go, but Sam would undoubtedly want to take Casey, and then Derek would have to watch them act all couple-y all night.

Not that he cared, or anything.

No, Derek would just go to this party by himself. He'd meet some babe and he'd forget why he'd been so hung up on that one little kiss he'd shared with his stepsister.

With this in mind, Derek drove to Kelli's house.

Shortly after he'd entered through the front door, Kelli Garner herself approached him.

"Hey, Derek," she purred. "Wanna make out?"

_Well,_ Derek thought, biting back a laugh, _at least she doesn't beat around the bush._

Ten minutes later, Derek felt thoroughly disgusted with himself. Here he was, in a random girl's house, sitting on her couch, wildly making out with said girl, and still all he could think of was a certain brown-haired, blue-eyed stepsister of his.

He tore his lips from Kelli's. "This has got to stop happening," he mumbled.

"What was that, Der-Der?" Kelli was looking at him blankly. It struck him that there were much more intelligent girls out there than Kelli. He didn't know why he even cared all of the sudden.

"Nothing." He needed a beer. He hoisted himself off the couch and headed toward where he thought there might be a kitchen.

oooooooooooooooooo

Much later that night, Derek was stumbling through the back door of his house. He didn't know how many drinks he'd had; he'd lost count. He did know that it wasn't all beer. Someone had offered him something else, and he'd gratefully accepted, downing several glasses of it.

It vaguely occurred to him that he shouldn't have driven home, but he wasn't thinking rationally. In fact, he couldn't quite remember why driving home was such a bad idea in the first place.

Once he'd finally gotten inside the house, he heard footsteps on the stairs. _Shit._ He braced himself for the explosion once Dad or Nora figured out he'd been drinking.

But Derek was relieved to see that it was only Casey as she rounded the corner.

"Where have you—" she stopped as she noticed Derek stumbling around, leaning against a chair for support. "You're drunk," she stated flatly.

"No I'm not," Derek slurred, "just a little tipsy—"

Casey shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe you….give me one reason why I shouldn't tell Mom and George."

Derek moaned. "Don't tell them, Case….please. I won't ever do it again."

Casey looked skeptical. "Fine." She sighed. "But you owe me one."

Several minutes later, after lugging a stumbling Derek upstairs, she left him at the door to his room. "You can fend for yourself now, can't you?" she stated.

Derek only stared intently at Casey. She found herself caught up in his gaze, unable to look away.

Finally, tearing her eyes away from his, she turned to leave. But before she took a step, Derek tugged on her arm, pulling her toward him. His lips crashed onto hers as her body collided with his. She froze, enjoying the kiss for a few sweet seconds before putting a hand on his chest and pushing him away.

"You're drunk," Casey said for the second time that night.

"So?"

"So, you're not in your right mind. You don't know what you're doing."

"I know damn well what I'm doing." He moved to pull her back against him. She pulled away and backed up a little.

"Don't, Derek, you'll regret it. You'll—" She was cut off as Derek moved back toward her and pressed his mouth against hers once again. "Mmm." She surrendered herself to his kiss, temporarily forgetting why she had been objecting.

However, when Derek sat her down on his bed, she quickly came to her senses.

"Derek." He mmmed in response as he moved down and began pressing kisses to her neck. It felt good—but it wasn't the time for it.

"DEREK," she said again, louder, pushing him away and hoisting herself off the bed. "Go to sleep—you'll be glad you did come morning." Not sticking around for any objections, she slipped out of his room.

**A/N: Again, not my best writing. But I hope you thought it was okay. I'll try my best to get the next chapter out soon.**


	5. Five

**A/N: Finally! Chapter Five! Woot! Well, I actually thought of a really good idea soon after I posted that author's note, before I read any of your reviews. I was really inspired to write this chapter, so I have it ready for you guys already. Anyway, thanks for your suggestions, I'll definitely consider them for the next chapter. And now I pretty much planned out the rest of the story, so hopefully I'll never have that problem again after the next couple chapters. Anyway, enough of me talking, time for the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Life With Derek.**

On Sunday morning, Derek awoke with his head throbbing. The sunlight filtering through the blinds seemed painfully bright. He lay for several minutes, too tired to get up, yet unable to go back to sleep.

"SMEREK!" Marti came bursting into his room. "Wanna come with us to the zoo? We can see the giraffes!"

Derek stifled a groan. "Sorry, Smarti, but I'll have to pass on that one. I'm sure the giraffes will be very cool."

Marti pouted and left his room, disappointment clear on her face.

But when Derek made his way downstairs still in his pajamas, ready to spend the day relaxing and recovering from his hangover, George and Nora announced that the whole family was to go to the zoo with them.

"That includes you, Derek," George said.

"And Casey too," added Nora. "After the last time we left you two alone here, we can't trust you not to throw a party and trash the house."

"But I didn't—" Casey interjected, only to be interrupted by her mother.

"You're both coming, and that's final."

Derek couldn't believe his luck. The last place he wanted to be seen was the zoo. Not to mention he was nursing the hangover of the century, which he couldn't even tell George or Nora about without them figuring out where he'd been last night.

So that was how, twenty minutes later, Derek found himself squished in the backseat of the minivan between Edwin and Casey.

_Casey_. Derek didn't remember what had happened last night, but he knew that it had somehow involved Casey. Her berry scent still lingered in his room. He only hoped he hadn't done something stupid.

Next to him, he could faintly hear music coming from Casey's headphones as she stared out the window. Sighing, Derek leaned his head back and tried to rest.

When the MacDonald-Venturi family arrived at the zoo, they decided to see the giraffes first, to make Marti happy. Never mind that the giraffes were possibly the furthest animals from the entrance. Derek thought his head was going to explode. The bright sun and shrieking toddlers close behind them weren't helping the matter.

Derek was so wrapped up in his headache that he didn't notice Casey looking at him, a concerned look on her face. Which is why he was surprised when Casey grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the nearest covered area and sat him down on a bench. Derek sighed in relief, as it was noticeably dimmer under the awning.

When he looked at Casey in confusion, she explained, "You looked like you were dying out there."

Derek mumbled a thanks and looked down.

"Have you taken anything for your head?"

"Yeah. Doesn't help much."

Casey sat down on the bench next to him. They sat in silence for several minutes. It wasn't an awkward silence, though, as one would expect. It was actually rather comfortable, Derek thought. There weren't many girls who would sit with him like this for so long without talking. Or doing—ahem—other things.

"Can I ask you something, Case?"

She looked up at him, startled. "Yeah?"

"What exactly happened last night?"

Casey looked down, and then back at Derek. "Nothing, really," she responded. "You came home, obviously drunk, and I helped you to your room."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

Derek let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "That's good, I guess," he said, looking out at a couple who were watching the pandas. The boy had his arm around the girl's waist, and her head was on his shoulder. They were obviously in love. Derek wondered what it was like. "I thought it might have been something worse."

When he looked back at Casey, she was fidgeting with her hands in her lap. A strand of her perfectly straight, shiny hair had fallen in her face. Derek longed to brush it away. He didn't know why he'd wanted to start this whole "kissing lessons" thing with Casey. It had just made everything worse. He'd always wanted to kiss her. But now that he had, he couldn't even look at her anymore without thinking of how amazing it had felt when her soft lips met his. For never having kissed before, Casey sure was good at it. God, was she good.

At that moment, Casey looked up and her eyes met his. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing." Derek mumbled. "It's just—we haven't had a lesson in awhile. Maybe we should have another one. I mean, if you want Sam to be impressed." Inside, Derek was kicking himself for taking advantage of the situation.

"Sure. I guess so." Casey looked at him expectantly.

"Well, um, maybe you should start it this time. Just to make sure you've got it."

Casey nodded and leaned closer, touching her lips to his. Derek felt the familiar jolt of electricity rush through him as he desperately kissed her back. He ran one of his hands through Casey's soft hair and let the other one wander. He kissed Casey harder now, and she met him with equal intensity. His hand was on her waist now; her shirt had ridden up a little and he could feel the warm skin of her waist. He moved his hand up a little and caressed her back. She moaned and pulled him closer. Taking this as a sign of approval, he let his hand wander further up so that it was just below her breast.

"I say. Kids these days don't have any respect for privacy." Derek and Casey pulled apart hurriedly. An couple of old ladies had walked past and seen them. They shook their heads in disgust and moved on.

"Um." Casey looked down in embarrassment. "I guess we should go catch up with the rest of the family."

But neither of them made a move to get up. Casey was still lying against Derek, and his hand was on her leg. Derek was silently cursing the old ladies for interrupting them. But he supposed it was better them than their family.

A few hours later, they were back in the minivan heading home. Derek's leg was against Casey's, but he didn't proceed to move it. Casey either didn't notice or didn't mind. Her head was against the window and she had her headphones on again. Derek suppressed a smile and leaned his head back again. He hadn't even realized that his head didn't hurt quite as bad anymore. What a way to cure a hangover.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**Review!**


	6. Six

**A/N: This has got to be a record, I think it's only been a little over two weeks since I last posted, hasn't it? I know, I need to start updating sooner, and posting longer chapters. I'm trying. But there are only a few chapters left in this story, I think.**

**Again, thanks for all the lovely reviews!**

**Disclaimer: Is there really a point in having one of these for every chapter? Why not just one at the beginning? If I didn't own Life With Derek then, what makes you think I do now?**

Casey was excited to arrive at school that Monday morning. Finally her kissing practice with Derek would come in handy. She'd be able to confidently give Sam the kiss of his life and never have to lose sleep over the matter again.

She was at her locker looking around apprehensively when she saw Sam waving from down the hall. When he reached her, he leaned down to hug her.

"Had a good weekend?" he asked her. Casey loved that Sam remembered her discomfort on Friday, and didn't push her about it. He was so sweet.

However, Casey wasn't going to wait around for this kiss. She knew she had to take action. This was it. She took a deep breath. Placing her hands on Sam's shoulders, she leaned up and touched her lips to his.

She didn't know what she was expecting of the kiss. It was nice, her mouth moving against his and their bodies pressed together, but she didn't feel the electricity she'd come to enjoy and expect.

When the couple broke apart, Sam looked down at Casey, a grin crossing his features. "What was that for?"

"Well," Casey shrugged, "we're going out, aren't we?" Inside, Casey's mind was processing a mile a minute. What if Sam wasn't the right guy for her? No, he had to be. He was sweet, funny, and nice. Of course he was right for her. It had to be something else. Maybe the setting wasn't romantic enough? Yes, that made sense. All her kisses with Derek were in romantic places, like the sunset. Or maybe that was the only one. Oh well, that wasn't the point.

School was possibly one of the least romantic places. Who wanted to have their first kiss in school? Studious as she was, even Casey knew school wasn't exactly the top dating location. No wonder she hadn't felt anything.

"So…" Sam was standing with his hands in his pockets. "I'll see you at lunch?"

"Sure…Sam?"

"Yeah?" He'd turned to leave, but he shifted back around at the sound of her voice.

"I was wondering if you…uh….wanted to go out again on Friday?"

Sam flashed his amazing grin again. "Of course." He gave Casey another peck on the lips and sauntered away. Casey could hardly contain her excitement. Smiling happily, she slammed her locker shut. On Friday, they'd go to dinner, or the movies, or some other date-worthy place, and they'd kiss again and it would be the best kiss Casey had ever experienced (not that it had many to be compared with). She couldn't believe how well her life was working out.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

On Friday evening, Casey meticulously got dressed and applied her make-up. She wanted the entire night to be perfect. That included knocking Sam off his feet.

When she heard the doorbell ring, she yelled downstairs. "Could someone get that?"

She heard the door open and a bunch of manly, macho "what's-ups" and other greetings. It had obviously been Derek who'd opened the door. Casey rolled her eyes into the mirror as she applied her perfume. Then, with a deep breath, she stood up straight. She was ready.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Derek gulped as he watched Casey make her way down the stairs. He hadn't seen Casey look this hot since she'd dressed up as Babe Raider for school. In fact, even then she hadn't looked as good as she did now. She was wearing a simple denim miniskirt and a medium blue low-cut sweater that enhanced her curves and accentuated her bright blue eyes, and silver ballet flats on her feet. Less skin was showing than the Babe Raider incident, but somehow Derek found her appearance now more endearing.

He kept his eyes on her as she approached Sam and kissed him in greeting. "You look beautiful," Sam told her, a grin on his face as he took her hand in his. Derek felt a surge of jealousy flow through him. He'd never felt the urge to punch Sam's lights out as much as he did at that moment.

_Well_, he thought as he closed the door behind the happy couple, _I guess that's the end of the kissing lessons_. He couldn't help feeling disappointed. He'd known going into this that it wouldn't last. Casey was only doing it for Sam. She would never feel anything for Derek. Hell, she didn't even like him as a step-brother, how could she ever think of him as more?

Still, he could imagine Casey's lips against his and the spark of electricity that ran through him every time they touched. He even loved it when she yelled at him. Just seeing the flush of her cheeks and the ability she had to be so passionate about everything was enticing. He now knew that she was that passionate in every aspect of her life. Including kissing.

And now he was imagining how beautiful she was even when wasn't wearing any make-up or skin-bearing clothes.

Boy was he whipped.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Casey couldn't believe what an amazing time she was having. Everything was perfect. Sam had surprised her with tickets to a play at a theater downtown.

"That was amazing," Casey breathed as they exited after the play had ended. Darkness had fallen in the couple hours they'd been inside, and her eyes took awhile to adjust.

"I knew you'd love it," replied Sam, taking her hand. "Anything for my beautiful girlfriend." He started walking, and pulled her along. "And now, we have dinner."

The restaurant Sam led her into was anything but shabby. The busboy led them to a small candlelit table in the corner, accentuated with a vase containing a single rose in the center. It was obviously not cheap. "Sam," she gasped, "this is wonderful. You shouldn't have gone to all this trouble."

"Nah," Sam said with a grin, "it was worth it." He was so sweet. Almost too perfect. How had Casey snagged this guy?

At the end of the night, Sam led her up to her door once more. This time Casey was ready when Sam leaned in. She closed her eyes in anticipation. His lips met hers softly. Again, she felt that nice sensation as his lips caressed hers, but she something was off. She couldn't place it. Everything had been perfect, from the play, to the dinner, to right now on her porch. Yet somehow she still didn't feel the electricity she had with Derek.

Pulling away softly, she said goodnight to Sam and slipped inside. She had an experiment to do.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo


	7. Seven

**A/N: VERY sorry I took so long to update! I had the first part written for the longest time but I couldn't figure out how to write the rest. I knew exactly what I wanted to happen, I just didn't know how to go about it. I thought about leaving you with just the first part, but I figured that would be too mean, since it was pretty short. Well, at any rate, I hope this chapter was worth the wait.**

**Oh, and I still love all the reviews! Thanks to everyone who sticks with me.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Life With Derek.**

Once inside, Casey didn't waste any time. Dodging Nora and Lizzie's questions, she sprinted upstairs and found herself in front of a closed door, behind which lay the source of all her confusion. Summoning all her courage, she knocked loudly on her eldest step-brother's bedroom door.

A few moments later it opened and Casey found herself face-to-face with Derek himself. He stood only a few inches taller than her, so their faces were nearly level. Derek's expression was unreadable. They were so close, Casey could feel the heat radiating from Derek's body. She felt a shiver go through her. Unable to contain herself any longer, she leaned forward and closed the distance between them.

After the usual spark of electricity ran through them, Casey felt herself relaxing into the familiarity of the kiss. One of Derek's hands rested on the small of her back, and she could feel the warmth through her thin sweater. His mouth was warm and soft and she couldn't get enough of his taste. No thoughts of Sam ran through her mind at all; she was simply caught up in the moment. Derek moved her inside, slammed his door shut and pressed her against the wall, kissing her more fervently. Casey returned his ardor with all the passion that had been pent up inside of her for so long. Soon Derek's mouth had moved and was pressing little kisses on her chin and neck. It felt incredible. As he made his way further and further down, Casey came to her senses. "Derek," she murmured.

His mouth was on his chest now, just above the cut of her sweater. "Don't…" he said between kisses, "ruin…it."

"Derek," she said louder. He ignored her. "Derek."

Irritated at being interrupted, Derek paused and looked at her. "What?"

"I—" Unable to think of what to say, she reluctantly pushed him away. "You—"

She was aware of Derek's eyes on her, watching her every move. _Why_ was he confusing her so much lately?

When she looked up, his eyes locked with hers. His eyes were questioning, and they held emotions she'd never seen in Derek before.

Without another word, she slipped out from behind him and exited his room.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Back in Casey's own room, she began the complicated task of dissecting her feelings.

She loved Sam, she was sure of it. He was sweet and funny, polite, honest…everything she looked for in a boy. He was romantic and took her on the most amazing dates. He comforted her when she was down; he apologized when he made her angry. He laughed at her sad attempts at jokes, and made some pretty good ones of his own. He respected her opinions and feelings, and listened to all her tirades. Casey could come up with a million and one good qualities Sam possessed; he was everything Derek wasn't.

Derek – her arrogant, rude, disgusting, flirty, messy, selfish, stubborn, unhygienic, womanizing pig of a stepbrother. The complete opposite of his best friend, and yet…he made her feel things. Things she didn't want him to make her feel. She wanted Sam to be the one to induce these feelings.

Ever since they'd started the kissing lessons, things had become increasingly different between Derek and Casey. They still fought, sure, but they now had more…personal relationship. Casey had refused to acknowledge it. She wanted things to go back to normal.

But every time they kissed, Casey knew she'd never felt anything like it. At first she'd thought it was normal for a kiss to feel the way it did. So why did she feel nothing with Sam? Sam was perfect for her. Why wasn't kissing him as exciting as she'd expected?

Casey groaned and buried her face in her pillow. So much for this kissing lessons thing solving her problems. It had only made them more confusing.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

When Casey made her way downstairs Monday morning, Derek was already there, munching away on his cereal. For a moment, he hadn't noticed her standing there yet, and she watched him as he scooped up large amounts of milk and cereal and thrust them into his mouth, chomping down like an animal, milk streaming out of his mouth. Normally Casey would be disgusted by this scene, but today…something was different. All she could see was the way his orange-brown hair messily framed his face, the thoughtful expression he wore, the toned arms that had so gently held her, the lips that had so sensuously caressed her own…

Suddenly Derek looked up and his eyes locked onto hers. His expression was blank, but somehow Casey couldn't look away.

"Ready for school, Case?" she spun around to find her mother coming up behind her.

"Oh, yeah," Casey replied, emerging from her trance. "Just, uh, trying to think if I'm forgetting anything."

Derek snorted into his cereal, but Casey ignored him.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey, Case?" Nora called from upstairs when Casey arrived home from school a couple days later. "Do you mind babysitting for Marti this evening? George and I have to go to Lizzie and Edwin's parent teacher conferences tonight and we thought we'd get some dinner on the way."

Casey groaned. Derek, who had come in behind her, was laughing infuriatingly.

"Can't Derek do it?" Casey called back.

Nora appeared at the top of the stairs. "That's not a bad point." She shifted her gaze to Derek, whose smirk still reigned. "Derek?"

"Sorry, can't." He pretended to look disappointed. "I'm going over to practice hockey plays with some of the guys. Maybe next time though."

Casey gave him a withering look and turned back to her mother. "Mom, that's not fair," she complained. "There are plenty of other things I could be doing if I wasn't babysitting Marti. Can't Derek do it for once?"

"How about you do it together?" George suggested, coming up next to Nora.

"You know," she said, ignoring the protests of Derek and Casey, "that's not a bad idea."

"What?"

"Mom!"

"That's not fair!"

"Shouldn't Derek do it by himself? I always babysit."

"You _like_ babysitting," Derek retorted, stepping forward.

"Maybe I only do it to prove to Marti that she has at least _one_ responsible older sibling." Casey shot back as she took a step forward as well.

"There's no reason you two can't learn to cooperate and get along," George spoke up. "Derek, you can _reschedule_," he gave Derek a stern look, "and Casey can help out since she is, after all, more responsible." Casey looked put off at having her words thrown back at her.

"Okay," Derek said ten minutes later after George and Nora left with Edwin and Lizzie, "I'll leave Marti to you, since you're the responsible one, and I'll go play hockey with the guys."

"I don't think so, Derek," Casey retorted, catching his arm as he tried to walk away. Their eyes met, and they engaged in a sort of staring contest, each challenging the other.

"Alright," Derek said, answering the unspoken provocation, "you decide what to do then."

"I want to play hide-and-seek!" Marti piped up. Casey and Derek turned; they hadn't been aware of Marti standing just behind them.

"Are you finished with your dinner?" Casey asked her, putting on a smile for her youngest step-sibling.

"I don't like fish sticks. I want to play hide-and-seek. I want Smerek to play too."

So that was how Casey found herself crammed in a secluded area underneath the back porch, cringing at the thought of all the mud and cobwebs she was probably sitting in.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Marti shrieked as she finished counting. It was the fourth round of the game; Casey and Derek had both taken turns being the seeker, Casey having gone twice, and now it was Marti's turn.

Casey sat quietly, listening to the rustle of the wind blowing the leaves and the steady chirp of crickets. She waited to hear Marti's call of "I found you!" as her cheerful face appeared under the deck, or possibly her shrieks as she chased Derek.

What she didn't expect was to hear a deep voice beside her mutter, "Hey."

"Derek," she whispered back, "this spot is already taken. You have to find somewhere else to hide."

He grinned as he settled down next to her amid piles of dirt and dead leaves. "You know I never follow the rules."

Casey didn't know why Derek had insisted on hiding under this porch with her. Neither of them spoke; well, that was to be expected, as this was a game of hide-and-seek, and it's never fun to make it easy for the seeker to find you.

In fact, for someone who had been so insistent on not babysitting, he seemed to be rather enjoying himself.

When she felt Derek's hand slip into hers, it felt warm and comforting. It was as if all her worries disappeared with the simple warmth of his touch. Somehow, just holding Derek's hand caused her to feel more emotion than kissing Sam. Why?

Caught up in the moment, Casey leaned toward Derek and caught his lips with her own. He kissed her back for a moment, and then broke away.

"I can't do this anymore, Casey," he said softly. He pulled his hand out of hers. "We can't keep doing this."

"Why not?" She was unable to see his face, which was hidden in shadow. She wondered what emotion his expression held, whether she should be glad she could not see it.

"Casey…" he trailed off, once again pressing a kiss to her lips. But unlike the other kisses they'd shared, heavy, full of passion, this one was soft and mournful and only spoke of how Derek truly felt, what he wanted.

"Oh," Casey breathed as he pulled away. Without another word, he crawled out from under the deck, once again leaving Casey to her thoughts. In the distance she could hear Marti's joyful cries at having found Derek out of his hiding place, and his forced laughter as he allowed Marti to chase him around the yard.


	8. Eight

**A/N: Soooooooo sorry for the extremely long wait! I just feel like I'm always busy. I had some trouble writing this one too…I knew what I ultimately wanted to happen, I just didn't know how I wanted to get there. But, anyway, here's the final chapter! Finally! **

**Huge thank you to everyone who reviewed! It means a lot to me that you guys stuck with me.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Life With Derek.**

Casey didn't know what to think.

Her stepbrother, who she used to hate and with whom she had recently been sharing kisses with, had just expressed his not-so-brotherly feelings to her.

But she still liked Sam. She had a date with Sam on Friday. He was her boyfriend. Derek was her step-brother.

It could never work between her and Derek. They argued, they fought; he infuriated her. Until recently, they hadn't been able to be in the same room without arguing. Before the kissing lessons.

And so on the following Friday afternoon, Casey found herself out with Sam once again. It was possibly one of the most potentially fun dates they'd gone on together, a trip to the annual carnival, and yet she couldn't seem to get her step-brother's deep brown eyes and mischievous smirk out of her head. He had an annoying habit of appearing inside her head at the most inconvenient times and refusing to leave.

"Wait here," Sam instructed her. "I'll go win you one of those big teddy bears."

Casey watched her boyfriend as he shot balls at a pyramid of stacked bottles, a determined look on his face. She loved how he could be so romantic and so sweet. She couldn't imagine Derek doing something like this.

"Here you go, sweetie," Sam announced as he approached her once again, a huge brown teddy bear in his arms.

"Aw, thanks," Casey said, kissing him briefly.

It was things like these that she'd always dreamed her boyfriend would do.

So why was she still not satisfied?

After Sam drove her home that evening and kissed her on the porch, she went upstairs for a refreshing bubble bath. She wanted to clear her mind and escape from her problems for awhile.

But the sight that greeted her when she reached the top of the stairs made her stomach drop and her breath catch in her throat. It was Derek, crossing the hall to his room after a shower, clad in nothing but a towel around his waist. Water dripped from his hair onto his exposed chest. His eyes caught hers, and she found herself unable to look away.

When he reached his bedroom, the connection was broken. He closed the door without looking back.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Sam, I have to tell you something. It's not working out between us. You see, when we first went out, I'd never kissed anyone before, so Derek offered to teach me. We've been kissing behind your back ever since, but now I think I've fallen in love with him…" Casey kicked her dresser in frustration. "No, that's not right." She tried again. "Sam, you're sweet, but I'm leaving you for my step-brother. Argh! Why can't this be easier?"

She sighed and flopped down on her bed. She supposed she'd just have to wing it.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Derek was rather dismayed when he found out that Casey would be tagging along to his hockey game that Saturday. He didn't want her there. He'd bared his feelings to her, feelings she didn't reciprocate, and now he just wanted to avoid her for the rest of his life.

_Oh well, _he thought bitterly, _she'll just go fawn over Sam anyway._

The ride there was an awkward jumble of George and Nora trying to engage everyone in song while Casey and Derek managed to sit as far away from each other as possible and ignore each other.

When they arrived, George and Nora took Edwin and Lizzie to go find seats, and Derek went to the huddle of players preparing for the game, irritated to see Sam heading past him in Casey's direction. He watched from afar as they took Marti to buy a drink from the vending machine. He imagined they were a family, the three of them. They'd be ecstatically happy, like on a sitcom. Derek would never be part of the equation. He supposed maybe he wasn't really the marrying type anyway. Everyone expected him to be a player forever. Someone like him wasn't meant to settle down.

"Hey, Derek!" Great. Now Sam was beckoning him over. Reluctantly, he trudged toward them.

"I was just telling Casey how we're going to cream the other team today. Then we'll be in the finals. Right?" Sam looked to Derek.

"Yeah, sure." He avoided Casey's probing eyes.

"So, Casey," Sam started, "Want to go out for lunch to celebrate when we win?"

"Casey loves Derek!" Marti piped up.

"Marti!" Casey looked from her to Derek to Sam, an alarmed look on her face. Sam looked at Casey, question and confusion etched in his features.

"It's true!" Marti exclaimed. "I saw them kissing!"

"Casey, what—" Sam let go of her hand.

"Marti," Casey looked shocked, "how did you—"

Before Marti could respond, Derek picked her up and clamped his hand over her mouth. "She's joking. It's nothing. Right, Casey? Ha ha." He put on a cheesy grin.

"I—no." Casey sighed. "Sam, listen, I—"

"No!" Sam interjected. "Casey, I thought I could trust you! I thought you were different! But you're not. You're like every other girl in the entire fucking world who falls for _Derek Venturi_. And you guys live in the same house. I can't imagine what you must have been doing when I wasn't around. 'Oh, don't worry about Sam. He won't find out.'"

"Sam, this isn't how I wanted this to happen."

"So you were just going to carry on doing it, because you knew I'd never find out."

"No, I just—"

"Whatever. Save it for someone who cares. I've got a hockey game to get to. We're through." With that, Sam stalked off toward the rink.

When Derek looked back, he barely got a glimpse of Casey's face as she turned and ran out the door crying.

For a moment Derek stood frozen, torn between running after Casey and beating Sam to a bloody pulp.

Turning decisively, he walked over to his family to drop Marti off before making his way toward Sam.

Sam, who was in the middle of angrily putting on his hockey gear, noticed Derek approaching. "I don't want to talk to you either," Sam stated. "You betrayed me as much as she did." He turned so that his back was to Derek.

Derek walked around to the other side of him, but Sam promptly turned around again.

"She did it for you, man," Derek said, exasperated. When Sam still didn't turn around, Derek turned on his heel and walked away from the rink, toward the door.

"Derek, where are you going?" He glanced back to see his coach looking annoyed and the rest of his family wearing confused expressions.

"Come on!" the coach yelled. "We have a game to win!" Derek looked from him, to Sam, to his parents and siblings, to the rest of his teammates.

Shaking his head, he pushed the door open and stepped out into the rain.

He found Casey in the playground a couple blocks away, absentmindedly swinging back and forth slightly on a swing. Her clothes were soaked through and her head was tilted down. Wordlessly, Derek sank down into the swing next to her. Casey made no indication that she knew he was there, but somehow Derek could sense that she was aware of his presence.

Suddenly, after several minutes of silence, Casey spoke.

"What do you do when you know something is wrong, but it somehow feels right?"

Derek looked over at her, her hair darkened from the rain and her eyes smudged with mascara. She looked so vulnerable, and yet Derek knew she was stronger than she appeared.

"Honestly," Derek replied after a moment, "I wish I knew the answer to that question."

At that, Casey leaned toward Derek, and, before he could register what was happening, she crashed her lips against his. One of his hands reached up to cup her face and the other wrapped around her back to hold her against him. He could feel her trembling, her hands tangled in his hair and her lips doing wonders to his own. This wasn't like all the other kisses they'd shared; it was new and exciting, a preview of what was to come in their newfound relationship.

Finally they broke apart, breathless and with swollen lips. Derek slipped his hand into Casey's, entangling them together.

"Shouldn't you be at the hockey game?" Casey asked, rubbing her thumb against to top of his hand.

Derek shrugged. "They'll do fine without me."

Casey laughed and tipped her face up to the sky, watching the rain fall. When she looked down again, a joyful expression on her face, Derek couldn't help but lean forward and kiss her once more.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So what does this mean for us?" Casey asked later as the two of them walked home, hands entwined.

"What do you want it to mean?" Derek responded.

"Are we…a couple?"

"Do you want us to be?"

"Do you?"

"I asked first."

Casey hesitated, studying Derek's expression. "I'd like that."

"Me too," Derek said, squeezing her hand. Casey smiled.

"So, I've been wondering," Casey said, grinning at him, "that whole kissing lessons thing…it was all because you liked me?"

"Now, let's not go inflating your ego even more." Derek grinned back.

"Look who's talking! You have an ego the size of Canada!"

"But you love me for it."

"Do I?"

"You do."

And so their relationship began, an unlikely romance which had blossomed between step-siblings. Of course, they still bickered; it was to be expected from two very opinionated and stubborn teenagers. However, this passion was also explored in other ways…a passion which burned brightly for months to come.

**A/N: So, did you like it? Was it worth the wait? The story is finally complete. From now on I'll probably mainly be posting one-shots. So be watching for my next story.**

**Reviews are still greatly appreciated! Thanks again to everyone who has kept with me!**


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